A new star athlete had replaced him as quarterback, and overnight he’d gone from being pro material to a has-been. It was hard on his ego for a few months, but he recovered. She’d believed Roy was out of her life for good—and then almost overnight he was back.
Not until Roy bought her an engagement ring did she tell him about the baby. At first Roy didn’t believe her, then he was angry, and after that, overwhelmed by sadness. He wept with her, and held her and begged her forgiveness. He went to see her parents, and Corrie never knew what was said, but when she accepted his engagement ring, Roy was welcomed into the family. The night of their wedding, they’d made a second vow to each other, and that was never to discuss their child again. Now Corrie couldn’t help wondering if it was that child who’d come to find them.
“Corrie,” Roy whispered, “are you asleep?”
“Just thinking,” she whispered back.
She might have been deep in thought but Cliff Harding was snoring up a storm. Grace woke him and he gave a start, then settled down to watch the movie. Ten minutes later, Cliff was snoring again. Two-thirds of the way through, Grace stood and led Cliff out of the theater. On her way to the aisle, she smiled apologetically at Corrie and Roy.
Corrie had to admit she wasn’t following the movie, either. Her thoughts weren’t on the rather complicated caper plot but on the child she’d never known. The child she’d given up for adoption.
Twenty-Three
“I’m ordering cheesecake,” Grace said as she slid into a booth at the Pancake Palace. She and Olivia had finished their Wednesday night aerobics class and decided to talk over coffee and pie. Coconut cream, however, wasn’t going to do it for Grace. She was disgruntled and unhappy, and one look told her Olivia felt the same way.
“We’re both ordering cheesecake,” Olivia said as she took the seat across from Grace.
“You first,” Grace said. They’d been best friends since grade school and were still as close as sisters. She kept almost nothing from Olivia and knew her friend trusted her unequivocally. Theirs was a special friendship.
“It’s Jack,” Olivia said with a groan. “Does that surprise you?”
“No.”
Goldie, their favorite waitress, came over, carrying a pot of decaf. “The usual?” she asked, as she filled their mugs. Olivia and Grace were creatures of habit. Every Wednesday night, they attended their exercise class and afterward went directly to the Pancake Palace for pie and coffee.
Grace hesitated at the waitress’s question and shrugged.
Olivia did, too.
“We’ve got mincemeat this week,” Goldie told them in a tempting voice.
“No, thanks,” Olivia said automatically.
Grace considered it for a second. “Coconut cream,” she muttered, half angry with herself for being so unwilling to venture from the tried and true. If she couldn’t make such a small change, then how could she manage a truly significant one?
Goldie returned a moment later with one slice of coconut cream pie and the other of lemon meringue, plus the check.
“You’re upset with Jack?” Grace said, prompting Olivia to resume their conversation.
“Damn straight I am. Good grief, I hardly see him! I was so annoyed when he broke our movie date. I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to the four of us going out. We hardly ever do that.”
“I was disappointed, too,” Grace said. Who’d believe that dinner and a movie would be the highlight of the Christmas season for them both?
Olivia seemed to rally. “Did you and Cliff have a good time?” she asked.
“We’ll discuss that later. Finish telling me what happened between you and Jack.”
To Grace’s astonishment, Olivia’s eyes filled with tears. “We had an argument that night. Jack didn’t get home until midnight—okay, ten o’clock, but it might as well have been midnight. He was at the office all day. You’d think the sun rises and falls on The Chronicle. It’s all he lives for, and frankly I hate it.” Angrily she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to get emotional. It’s just that we seem to be at an impasse.”
“You’re not thinking…” Grace couldn’t bring herself to say the word divorce.
“No, but things have got to change. Jack works too hard, he eats mostly fast food and doesn’t get any exercise. He’s going to kill himself if he continues at this pace.” She lowered her eyes. “He thinks this is all one big joke. He said the other day that if he keeled over, what I’d miss most was regular sex.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Leave it to a man to reduce everything to that.”
“He’s promised his schedule will change after the first of the year, but I’ve heard those promises before. I just don’t want him to kill himself over a stupid newspaper.”
“He loves you, Olivia.”
“I know and I love him, too. I bought him a treadmill for Christmas.”
“Good. Maybe Jack will take the hint.”
“He’s so stubborn, though.”
Grace couldn’t help smiling. “What man isn’t?”
Now Olivia smiled, too. She reached for her fork and cut into her lemon meringue. “All right, enough about me and Jack. What’s going on with you and Cliff?”
Grace sighed heavily. “Cliff fell asleep during the movie. I woke him up when he started snoring—loudly.”
Olivia burst into laughter.
“Olivia Lockhart Griffin, this is not funny.”
Her friend made an effort to restrain her amusement.
“Ten minutes later, he was snoring again. I’d had it, and we left the theater.” In truth, Olivia should be grateful she’d missed out on their evening. Cliff had been exhausted. He’d been working with his horses all day and ended up feeling tired and cranky. Dinner after the movie had been dismal.
“I’m so disappointed I could’ve cried.”
“What is it with our men?” Olivia asked.
“I don’t know. But I’m sick of this,” Grace said. “It’s like I’m married with none of the benefits.”
“No regular sex?” Olivia teased.
“You might be my best friend, but there are some things I will not divulge, even to you, and my love life is one of them.”
“In other words, you don’t have one.”
“In other words, you’re right.”
They both laughed and it felt good. Christmas was four days away and she was supposed to spend Christmas Eve with her girls and then go to Cliff’s late Christmas morning. But Grace found she was having second thoughts about seeing Cliff at all.
“What are we going to do?” Olivia asked. “Jack will think it’s very clever of me to buy him a treadmill, but I can’t make him exercise. Nor can I keep him away from double bacon cheeseburgers.”
“I can’t make Cliff love me.”
That comment obviously shook Olivia. “Cliff does love you,” she insisted.
Grace used to believe that, too, but these days she wasn’t so sure. “We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, but now we’re in a rut. Being with me seems more of a burden than a joy. Our date last Saturday was an obligation he felt he had to fulfill. I certainly didn’t enjoy myself and I doubt he did, either.”
“So what’s next?”
That was a question worth contemplating. “I wish I knew.”
“Just promise me you won’t do anything until after Christmas.”
Grace made a wry face. “Here’s how Christmas will go. I’ll arrive at Cliff’s around noon, make dinner and then knit while he falls asleep in front of the television.” She’d wash the dinner dishes, kiss him goodbye and let herself out. She might as well stay home with her dog and cat; Buttercup and Sherlock were frequently better company. “Some time the next morning,” Grace concluded her scenario, “Cliff will phone and apologize and then we’ll start all over again.”
“Cliff needs his cage rattled,” Olivia suggested, tapping her finger against her lips.
“That sounds ominous.”
&nb
sp; “You feel like you’re married but don’t have any of the benefits? Then tell him you want to marry him.”
“You think I should propose?”
“Yes,” Olivia said. “That should wake him up.”
“I want to get Cliff’s attention, not give him a heart attack.”
“Force him to make a decision—a commitment.”
Grace could just imagine the look on his face, but maybe Olivia was right. It was time to either make that commitment or walk away. However, Grace didn’t know if she had the courage to follow through on any kind of ultimatum.
“Well?” Olivia pressed.
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve got to do something,” Olivia said firmly, scraping up the last of her pie.
That was true enough, but suggesting marriage seemed rather drastic. “I’m afraid,” she admitted after a thoughtful moment.
“What are you afraid of?” Olivia asked.
Grace set her fork aside and picked up her coffee, then put it down again. “I don’t know.” That wasn’t the complete truth. She knew. Her biggest fear was that Cliff would tell her he had no marriage plans. Or none with her, anyway.
“Grace?” Olivia stretched her arm across the table and squeezed her hand. “You’ve gone pale.”
She managed a shaky smile. “I’m still waiting for the effects of that pie to kick in.”
“Are you going to do it?” Olivia asked.
Grace took a deep breath. “I believe I will. It’s time I learned where I stand with Cliff.”
Twenty-Four
Christmas morning Maryellen woke cozy and warm in bed with her husband’s arms around her. She sighed happily and turned to face him.
“Merry Christmas,” she whispered, and discovered that Jon had raised himself on one elbow, looking down at her. His eyes brimmed with love as he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Merry Christmas,” he echoed. “How do you feel?”
“I don’t know yet.” She lifted her head tentatively and waited a moment. All seemed well. Her stomach hadn’t immediately started to heave and that was a good sign. This pregnancy wasn’t as difficult as the last, the infant son she’d miscarried. This time, she’d been experiencing some morning nausea but it wasn’t debilitating.
Jon remained fearful that it’d been a mistake to get pregnant so soon. That was irrelevant now. She hadn’t tricked him; he knew she wasn’t using birth control and it was bound to happen sooner or later. He’d just assumed, as she did, that it would be later. When it turned out not to be, Maryellen was surprised herself—and overjoyed. She wanted Katie to have a brother or sister and she didn’t want to wait much longer. As it was, she was almost forty.
“You’ll notice Katie’s still asleep.”
“Little wonder.” They’d gathered at Kelly and Paul’s home with Maryellen’s mother for Christmas Eve. Katie and Tyler had played together, racing around the Christmas tree, their laughter ringing through the house. It had been a late night, but Katie was too excited to fall asleep until almost midnight.
“I’m thinking,” Jon whispered as his warm hand closed over her breast, “that we have a good hour to ourselves.” He pressed his erection against her and kissed her with an urgency that spoke of his need. “Wouldn’t you say this is the perfect time to begin a new holiday tradition?”
“That sounds interesting,” Maryellen murmured happily. She loved this man and knew that if she’d let him walk out of her life, she would have lost herself, too—lost the woman she was meant to be.
An hour later, they sat in the living room, each holding a mug of coffee, and gazed out at the view of Seattle. It was still dark, so the lights of the city shimmered in the distance. Jon settled his arm around her shoulders.
“Do you think we should wake Katie?” Maryellen asked.
“If we do, I have a feeling we’ll live to regret it.”
Jon was right. Katie tended to wake up whiny, especially after a late night. Besides, Maryellen cherished this private time with her husband and didn’t want to squander it.
“Let’s open our gifts,” she suggested. Maryellen had spent her Christmas bonus from the Harbor Street Gallery on a high-end digital camera for Jon. He’d been eyeing it for months, but couldn’t justify the expense. She knew how badly he wanted it and her joy at being able to purchase it for him made her feel giddy with excitement.
“You first,” he said. Getting up, he walked over to the tree and plucked off a small package dangling from one of the branches. Maryellen had noticed it there but hadn’t touched it. Her main concern had been keeping Katie away from the gifts.
“I hear good things come in small packages,” she teased. They were on a limited budget, so she expected something inexpensive. A token. She tore off the wrapping and found a jeweler’s embossed box. She stared at Jon, and her smile faded.
“Open it,” he said.
Her husband wasn’t a man who smiled often. His delight at watching her open this gift was revealed by the way his eyes brightened and the edges of his mouth curved upward in anticipation.
Maryellen lifted the lid and gasped. It was a diamond wedding ring with a solitaire diamond that had to be a full carat in size. Tears instantly blurred her vision and speech became impossible. When they were married, all they’d been able to afford was a simple gold band. Not once had Maryellen even hinted that she would’ve preferred a diamond. Jon was her jewel, she’d told him, and the love they shared was worth far more than any ring.
“Say something,” he said urgently. “Do you like it? Because if you don’t, I can exchange it.”
“I love it….” She threw her arms around his neck and broke into sobs of joy. “How?” She was sure he hadn’t charged it. Jon was an excellent money manager and always paid cash. Their home didn’t have a mortgage because her frugal husband had paid for each section as he built it. He hadn’t finished yet, but that would happen in time.
“I put aside money all year,” Jon told her, using his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I always intended for you to have a diamond, but it wasn’t financially possible when we got married.”
Maryellen took the ring from its plush bed and slid it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. She smiled up at him, then kissed him sweetly and whispered how much she loved him. Holding her hand out to admire the ring, she saw the diamond glittering in the light. “I really do love it. But not as much as I love you.”
“I’m glad.”
“Your turn,” she insisted and pulled the box out from behind the tree. A large paper package tumbled out with it.
“Who’s that from?” Jon muttered.
He must have guessed, but still he asked. Maryellen sighed; she didn’t want anything to ruin this Christmas. “It came last week from Oregon,” she finally said.
The package had arrived at the gallery, addressed to the three of them, DON’T OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS written in big block letters across the top. Without a word to Jon, Maryellen had brought it home and hidden it behind the tree.
“Open your gift,” she said, hoping to distract him.
“When did that get here?” he asked in a disgusted voice.
“Last week.”
“You didn’t mention it.”
Maryellen sank into the chair. “Jon, please, don’t. Katie is their only grandchild. They love her and want to be part of her life. You’ve made your feelings abundantly clear, but your daughter deserves to know her grandparents.”
He seemed about to argue, but after a moment his shoulders sagged and he nodded.
“Now open your gift,” she said, pushing the package toward him. It wasn’t heavy, but she wanted to give him the impression that it was.
Jon eagerly ripped away the paper, and when he saw the camera box, he froze. Slowly he looked up, his eyes wide with shock. “You didn’t.”
“Yes, I did,” she announced gleefully.
“We can’t afford this.”
“I used my bonus.”
&
nbsp; “Maryellen, that money is for you to buy yourself something you want.”
“I did. There’s nothing I wanted more in this world than to give my husband the digital camera he’s been salivating over for the last six months.”
Jon walked to where she sat and knelt down in front of her. Taking her face between his hands, he kissed her. “Thank you.”
Maryellen placed her arms around his neck. “This is the best Christmas of my life,” she said and meant it. She had Jon and Katie, and another life was growing inside her, evidence of the love she and her husband shared.
Katie woke then, and dropping a last kiss on Maryellen’s cheek, Jon ran upstairs to get his daughter. While he was busy with Katie, Maryellen poured the little girl her morning cup of orange juice.
Opening gifts with their daughter was a pleasure like no other. Katie wanted to play with each toy and examine each gift and—like every young child—was equally fascinated with the wrapping paper. Not surprisingly, the process took several hours. It was two in the afternoon and the turkey was in the oven before they reached the last gift—the box mailed from Oregon.
Katie wasn’t sure about this package without festive paper, so Maryellen helped her. Jon stood in the kitchen and watched, as if to stay as far away as possible from the gift his family had sent.
When she’d carefully removed the outer packaging, Maryellen discovered three wrapped presents inside: one for Katie, another for her and the last for Jon. She sat back on her heels and glanced up at her husband.
“What?” he asked.
She didn’t answer right away. “Here, Katie,” she said and handed her daughter the gift. It turned out to be a hand-crocheted white dress with a pink satin bow and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Maryellen could only imagine the time and effort that had gone into creating it.